Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc (REGN), Questcor Pharmaceuticals Inc (QCOR), Aegerion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (AEGR): Three Booming Biotech Companies

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Wall Street had a great week. The Dow topped 15,000. The S&P 500 also notched a record high. But few stocks blew the doors off like those of these three biotech companies. Here are the biggest booming biotechs over the past week.

The eyes have it
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:REGN)
reported first-quarter results this week — and Mr. Market liked what he heard. Shares soared almost 23%.

The biotech’s eye medication Eylea powered earnings to easily beat analyst estimates. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:REGN) announced non-GAAP earnings of $1.78 per share, well above the consensus expectation of $0.98 per share.

Revenue skyrocketed by nearly 90% year-over-year to $440 million, with net product sales accounting for $319 million of that total. Eylea made up nearly all of those sales. The drug, which first hit the market in the U.S. for treating age-related macular degeneration in November 2011, also received approval in September for the treatment of patients suffering from macular edema following central retinal vein occlusion.

Impressive first quarter results led Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:REGN) to up its full-year guidance for Eylea sales also. The biotech now expects the drug to achieve sales of $1.25 billion to $1.33 billion. Previously, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:REGN) projected Eylea sales in the range of $1.2 billion to $1.3 billion.

Bad is good?
The first quarter was a different story altogether for Questcor Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:QCOR). The biotech missed estimates for revenue and earnings. Nevertheless, shares rose nearly 17% during the week.

How did this happen? My view is that many investors realized that Questcor Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:QCOR)’s quarter wasn’t as bad as it looked at first blush. There were a couple of temporary factors at work that probably affected sales of Acthar gel.

Better yet, Questcor Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:QCOR) stated that April turned into a banner month for Acthar sales, especially for multiple sclerosis prescriptions. The company is also seeing positive results for rheumatology indications with an expanded sales force.

Jumping Juxtapid
Aegerion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEGR)
shares popped by nearly 14% this week. The biotech reported first-quarter results, with investors particularly eager to hear about the commercial launch of Juxtapid.

It looks like investors received the news they hoped to hear. Aegerion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEGR) reported that more than 185 patient prescriptions were written in the first quarter with 75 patients on the medication, which treats the rare lipid disorder homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia, or HoFH. The biotech’s goal was to have 250 to 300 patients taking Juxtapid by the end of 2013.

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